Blood service in Secunda and Bethal still fully operational on level 4

SECUNDA – The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is still fully operational under Level 4 lockdown.

Ms Dot Prinsloo, donor relations practitioner at the Secunda branch of the SANBS, said the blood service is recognised as an essential service by the government and therefore, blood collections, laboratory services and related activities will continue to function with strict Covid-19 safety protocols in place.

The blood service received a letter of good standing from the Department of Labour.

Ms Prinsloo said: “We appeal to the community to remain calm, open-minded and safe during these trying times, by adhering to the restricted measures announced by the president.

“In doing so, it is important to remember that the action of donating blood remains an essential service, and may therefore proceed as usual, with all precautions followed.

“Following the level 4 announcement, most blood drives are recording very poor support from the public, with blood being needed every single day.

“Enough blood tomorrow will not help anyone today.

“A person may donate blood immediately after being vaccinated, provided they do not have any symptoms of infection and that the usual blood donation screening tests are in order.”

The SANBS offers an appointment system, allowing donors to schedule donation appointments in advance.

This is done to avoid waiting times, giving donors with appointments preference, even though walk-in donors will still be more than welcome.

The blood service launched a new commitment campaign on World Blood Donor Day which was celebrated on June 14 where donors will receive a special gift every second time they donate blood.

Ms Prinsloo said this is not only for donors who can donate blood four times in a year as was the case before, but any person who donates a unit of blood between now and August 14 will receive a launch gift.

She urged donors to continue donating blood regularly, not only to keep on saving lives but also to ensure that donors can qualify for the many amazing gifts that are up for grabs.

“By using these branded gifts, donors are true ambassadors for SANBS, and we rely on that influence to reach more people,” said Ms Prinsloo.

Another major change introduced is the new policy on haemoglobin cut-off levels.

The cut-off levels have been reduced from 12.5 to 12.0 for women and increased to 13.0 for men.

An additional laboratory ferritin test will be done on all donors, on every 4th donation.
Ferritin tests assess the iron stores in the blood, rather than the haemoglobin that only looks at how much iron is already in circulation.

With these changes, the SANBS will be able to provide better donor care, resulting in many more happy years of donating blood.
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isit the blood services in Secunda in Horwood Street or the offices in Bethal near the Spar, or contact them 017 631 1652 or 017 647 5598.